Turnabout International
by Hailcyon Storm
Summary: A short-form Ace Attorney story in which Apollo Justice and Franziska von Karma meet in the courtroom and face off against each other.
1. Chapter 1

"Mr. Wright, I think it's about time we get going." Phoenix looked up from his book at the Steel Samurai-themed clock on the wall, showing the time at 8:25 AM. He closed the book, titled _The Art of Bluffing_, and put it on his desk, neatly placed between unsorted file documents and props for Trucy's magic tricks that she "forgot" to clean up.  
"The courthouse is only a ten-minute drive away; we'll be there far earlier than you're expected. But I guess if you want some extra time to prepare there's no harm in leaving now. I understand you're quite nervous, this being your first international case and all. Not to mention, you'll be going up against none other than F-"  
"I can assure you I'm not nervous at all Mr. Wright!" Apollo shouted at a volume that was in no way appropriate for indoors, "In fact, I'm totally fine, and I'm confident I can win this case!" Phoenix never shied away from calling out the flaws of his apprentice, but if there's one thing he could never fault Apollo for it was his confidence. He was certainly nervous, but that confidence was very real, and it would shine in his courtroom performance.  
He chuckled, excited to see Apollo perform in court like a father watching their child at a football match. Ever since the trials surrounding Kristoph Gavin, Phoenix had gained popularity as a lawyer again, so he had been unusually busy with cases of his own, not allowing him to attend any of Apollo's for a while. However, for this special case, he had made an exception. Of course, there was the matter of it being a case of international influence, a first for Apollo's career. But there was one more reason Phoenix wanted to attend this particular trial.  
The trial will be prosecuted by none other than Ms. Franziska von Karma, international prosecutor and a former rival of Phoenix. The Diego Armando case was the last time he ever saw her, although Edgeworth apparently had met up with her various times over the past few years. According to him, she has changed significantly since then, but Phoenix understandably found such a thing hard to believe. Either way, today would be the perfect opportunity to test the validity of Edgeworth's claims, watching safely from the gallery.  
"Alright, let's go then. And Apollo, please stop fidgeting with your bracelet like that, it's making me nervous just by looking at it. If only you were half as good at hiding your own nervous tics as you are at spotting those of others." And with that said, they were off to the courthouse.

The courthouse stood high above all the other buildings surrounding it, majestically as a house of justice should be. The massive doors that functioned almost as a portal to another dimension: one moment you're in the outside world, a place full of judgment and prejudice, and the next you're in a place free of all such things. The only thing that matters inside those doors is evidence and logic. Only Lady Justice herself is able to pass judgment here, although in our case Lady Justice would take the shape of an old bearded man. In any case, the entrance to the courthouse was filled with more people than usually. International cases usually attract more attention from the press, but this seemed a bit excessive even for that. Perhaps there was another trial taking place today that would garner a lot of attention. Phoenix parked his car in the designated area for lawyers and made for the entrance together with Apollo.  
"So Apollo, what's your strategy for today?" Phoenix inquired, as a means of having Apollo put all of his thoughts in order and set his worries aside. For the entire duration of the ride to the courthouse Apollo hadn't let go of his bracelet once. Being on edge was pretty much his natural state of being, but this was an exceptional case even for his standards.  
"Well, the whole case is a bit complicated, my head keeps spinning because of it. The victim, Mr. Chris Diner, died under unknown circumstances during a meeting for business officials of their international company GoodFoods Inc. The body was to be transported here a couple days ago for further investigation, but when the plane arrived here, the body was reported as missing. The defendant, Ms. Aerith Phoroba, is being accused of having disposed of the body. She was the only attendant of the meeting who has any relation to the victim outside of business relations, them having been friends for years. They are also both the only American members of the company. Worst of all though, Phoroba was on same plane as Diner's body when they flew back here, so that's where the accusation mostly comes from."  
Phoenix chuckled a bit. "I see. Thank you for the synopsis of the case, but I was already well aware of all that. I took the liberty of looking through the case files myself while you were out for a walk yesterday. What I was asking of you, however, was your plan of attack for today. How are you going to prove your client is innocent?"  
They had walked around the building to a back door leading into the hallway for the defendant lobbies. Whenever possible, Phoenix liked to take these side entrances to avoid the press waiting outside. Coming to think of it, he had never seen Edgeworth take anything but the front entrance. He would never admit it, but he probably secretly liked the attention.  
"To be completely honest," Apollo continued, unphased by Phoenix having looked through his documents, "I have no clue how the body went missing, or where it should be now. I wasn't able to get in contact with any of the flight crew in time, hopefully that won't come back to bite me. So, instead of proving who _did_ move the body, I plan to prove that Ms. Phoroba _couldn't _have done it. If I can prove her innocence in that regard, that should hopefully give the judge enough reason to postpone the trial another day, so I can investigate more."  
They had arrived at Defendant Lobby no. 4, the place where Apollo's defendant should soon show up. Phoenix had been nodding quietly in response to Apollo's court strategy, but hadn't actually said anything back. Even now, as they were standing still in front of the lobby, he was silent.  
Apollo finally broke the silence by adding one more thing: "What worries me the most is the prosecutor, Ms. Von Karma. Everyone keeps saying she's virtually unbeatable, but you've won some cases against her, haven't you? Isn't there anything you can tell me about her, any advice on how to approach my defense against such a vicious opponent?"  
Phoenix had had ample opportunity to tell his mentee about Franziska's tendency to whip people into shape when they annoyed her, but he purposely kept that detail a secret. For all he knew, she could have left that quirk far behind her by now, though it seemed more than a little unlikely.  
"She's a force to be reckoned with, nobody can deny that. But I think you might be able to deal with her just a bit more easily than most others would. Make sure you keep a sharp eye on your bracelet, you might need it more than ever today. Anyway, I think we should separate here. If I'm fast enough I might see the Judge before he heads for the courtroom. He invited me for his birthday party, but he forgot to mention where it is. He seemed rather excited for me to finally meet his grandson, so I wouldn't want to miss it." And without waiting for a response, he was on his way, leaving Apollo behind to figure his words out on his own.


	2. Chapter 2

To his surprise, when Apollo entered the defendant lobby, his client was already there, awaiting him. Aerith Phoroba was by far the youngest of all the attendees at the GoodFoods meeting at only 25 years of age. The relation between her and the victim was one mostly consisting of mentor and mentee. Mr. Diner had already been a highly respected businessman at the company for a long time when he became the CEO of the American branch. Around the same time, Ms. Phoroba was hired to take his former place, and the two hit it off quite well. No records showed anything indicating any sort of romantic interest, so it seemed their relation was entirely contained within the business. The supposed motive of her crime was jealousy for Mr. Diner's position, which she would hope to acquire by getting rid of him. An unlikely story, but, as Apollo had soon found out, not many of his or his mentor's cases were confined by such things as logic or likeliness.  
"Mr. Justice, I'm glad you're here. I was left alone here by the guards and I've been… rather uncomfortable… on my own…" Her words trailed off, as she was more focused trying to conceal the tears starting to form in her eyes. This all had been a great shock for her, especially since it all went down in a matter of days. She clearly hasn't been getting much rest, and the mental strain has started to take a toll on her overall composure. Hopefully the prosecutor would go easy on her.  
"Ms. Phoroba, I'm glad to see you're alright. I know it's been tough, but I promise you I will give it my all today to prove your complete innocence. You'll be fine, I believe in you." The defendant smiled at him, letting Apollo know that she believed in him as well. In many ways, Apollo still had much to learn from his mentor, but when it comes to comforting their clients, Phoenix could perhaps take some lessons from his own subordinate. Because of his bracelet, Apollo was able to sense the slightest nervous habits of anyone including his clients, making it easy for him to notice when something he says makes someone nervous. He would use that to make sure he could let his clients feel at ease when talking with them, which was important right before the start of a trial.  
They passed the time talking about various things; first about trivial matters, but then Apollo shifted the topic into the upcoming trial. He wanted to clarify some small details that were still vague to him. Before he was able to get all his answers, however, the bailiff entered the lobby, asking Ms. Phoroba to join him to the courtroom. The trial was about to start, so Apollo used the remainder of his time to do some vocal exercises, which served as his personal way to psych him up for the courtroom battle. After that he entered the doors, and took place at the defense's bench.

The gallery was buzzing with noise, awaiting the arrival of the international prosecutor. And it didn't take long for the doors to open to let her make her grand entrance. She wasn't tall by any stretch of the imagination, Apollo noticed, and yet her presence was somehow larger than anyone else in the room. Perhaps it was her serious facial expression that implied she was heading into a life-or-death battle that caused it, or perhaps it was the long, intimidating whip she was carrying, ready at the hand to lash out at someone in the blink of an eye. It was probably the whip.  
As she walked towards the prosecutor's bench, her shoes were clacking against the floor, and suddenly it became apparent how silent the courtroom had become with her arrival. Not a single member of the gallery dared make any noise, presumably in fear of the wrath of the aforementioned whip. Even the judge, who was supposed to open the trial, didn't speak up.  
"Are you the defense attorney for the trial?" she spoke, her voice echoing through the chamber. She didn't yell, but her voice carried an enormous volume nonetheless. "You are the disciple of that fool Phoenix Wright, are you not?"  
Apollo's preparation for the trial consisted of mental training not to be intimidated more than anything else. Now he realized that training wasn't nearly enough to prepare him for who he would have to face in this trial. He grabbed his bracelet as he always did in times of distress, and felt it tightening around his wrist. Before the feeling had properly registered, he felt the sharp lash of a whip striking right in front of his face, accompanied by the appropriate sound.  
"Fool. This trial will serve as a test for me to determine whether you are worthy to call yourself a defense attorney. Now, Your Honor, if you please." She bowed courteously, appearing as some sort of royalty.  
The judge cleared his throat. "Alright then, court is now in session for the trial of Aerith Phoroba. Is the defense ready?"  
Apollo nodded.  
"Is the prosecution ready?"  
"Yes, Your Honor."  
"Then, Ms. Von Karma, please proceed with the opening statements."  
The prosecutor grinned. "Of course, Your Honor. I shall lay the facts out so clearly that not even the defense will have any doubts as to the defendant's guilt. On February 21nd, during a meeting of high-ranking GoodFoods Inc. businessmen in Borginia, Mr. Chris Diner lost his life under unknown circumstances. The body was to be transported to America for a thorough examination, but when the plane hit the ground here, the body was nowhere to be found. The prosecution asserts that it was the defendant who disposed of the body. I will now call upon my first witness, detective Dick Gumshoe. Scruffy!"  
She yelled the last word aggressively, and the admittedly scruffy detective hurried his way to the stand. He was a large man, but nonetheless caught in the intimidation of the prosecutor. He scratched the back of his head, and started his testimony.

"Detective Gumshoe, please give us an overview of the events that occurred surrounding the body transportation of Mr. Diner."  
Gumshoe nodded, and began his testimony hastily, careful not to say anything that might upset Ms. Von Karma.

_The victim was transported away from the scene of the crime and brought aboard the plane in secrecy. Not even the pilots, let alone the passengers, were made aware of the presence of Mr. Diner's body on the plane. When the plane landed back on the ground safely, a team of security guards was ready to receive the body and take it to the research lab for a detailed autopsy report. That's when we found the cargo area to be empty._

Apollo worried about Detective Gumshoe's testimony. If it was true that nobody on the plane could have known about the body except for Ms. Phoroba, it would be exceptionally difficult to prove her innocence. Nonetheless, he didn't come this far to give up.  
"The defense may now begin the cross-examination." The judge spoke.  
"Mr. Gumshoe," Apollo started, "Why was the body transported in a regular plane in the first place? Don't you have specialized vehicles for these kinds of procedures?"  
Gumshoe scratched the back of his head. "In most other cases, that would have been easier, but Borginia has a very strong border check administration. Having our vehicles go there and be checked upon entering the country would have taken longer than using a regular plane."  
"And so the body was just stashed away with the rest of the cargo, amidst the luggage of the unsuspecting passengers?" Apollo remarked.  
"You really think we'd be that cruel, pal?" Gumshoe laughed. "The plane has an area for special cargo that has extra security measures. That's where the body was kept."  
Apollo nodded in agreement. There was no doubt the body was dealt with carefully, that much was clear. However, that did open up the contradiction he had been waiting for. He smiled, knowing he had made his first move successfully.  
"Detective, you just stated that the cargo area Mr. Diner was transported in was secured tightly. If that is the case, then how would Ms. Phoroba have been able to go there? Wouldn't she have been caught by security?" Apollo grinned, proud of his achievement, when he felt his bracelet involuntarily tightening around his wrist. He moved his other hand towards the bracelet, but before he could reach it, he felt a sharp pain lash across his arm. Franziska's whip had struck him, and this time she hadn't been so kind as to stop the whip right before it made contact. Was the bracelet reacting to the prosecutor's hand movement?  
"You fool!" She snared at him angrily, "You stand there, grinning like you've already won the case. What you just said is the most basic argument any incompetent fool could have made. You really think I wouldn't have anything to back up my claims? Scruffy, explain how the defendant could have approached the body despite the security measures."  
Apollo quickly lost his smile, as he realized this battle was far from over. Detective Gumshoe nodded, and started his second testimony.

_The security measures are only active when the plane is on the ground. That's when it is most vulnerable to criminals, after all. During the flight, there are cameras monitoring the regular passengers. The flight staff would know when one of them went to the cargo space. The defendant was flying first-class, though, where there are no such cameras._

The judge turned to the detective. "So what you're saying is, the defendant could have gotten out of her seat, walked to the cargo room, and tampered with the body, and nobody would have noticed? That sounds very unsafe!"  
"Well, when items are kept in there, they are often of high value, so the security measures are very high-tech. That means it takes up a lot of power. When the plane is grounded that isn't an issue, but in the air there's a limited supply of power. That's why, on long flights, those measures are disabled."  
Gumshoe was about to continue, but Franziska interjected him. "It should be clarified, these security measures only relate to the special cargo area, where the body was located. In most cases, this area is empty. The regular cargo area for the passenger's luggage is still securely locked."  
The judge nodded. "Very well. I don't much care for flying myself, but my grandson loves it. I just wanted to make sure his belongings are still kept safe. Mr. Justice, your cross-examination please."  
Apollo had already spotted an opening in the detective's new testimony, and decided to go for it immediately. "Detective, were there any others flying in first-class? If so, they are a suspect just as much as Ms. Phoroba!"  
The detective scratched his beard, thinking for a moment. "Well, there was one other-"  
At that moment, Apollo felt his bracelet twitch again. By now, it was obvious to him what it meant, and instead of waiting for the whip to lash him once again, he stretched out his hand, and closed it on pure intuition.  
He looked at his hand, and saw the end of Franziska von Karma's whip hanging in his clenched fist. He turned his head to face the prosecutor, who was clearly taken aback. Apollo let go of the whip and she quickly withdrew it.  
"I would really prefer it if the prosecution didn't resort to physical violence every time anyone makes a coherent point. If you have an objection to make, do so with words, not with the lash of your beloved plaything."  
As he spoke, even if just for a brief moment, Apollo felt powerful. He managed to overpower the dominatrix of the courtroom, and he had gained control again. Blood was rushing through his veins. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his body. This was the thrill he became a lawyer for. But, as all things do, this instance of feeling all-powerful only lasted for a very short while, when he saw the look on Von Karma's face. She was no longer simply impatiently agitated, as seemed to be her natural state. No, she was positively pissed off now. She looked at the defense like she was trying with all her might to make him spontaneously burst into flames.  
"You absurdly foolish fool, who foolishly tries to make a fool out of me, Franziska von Karma. You will pay dearly for this; I will assure it. But fine, let us go along with your foolish ideas for now." At this point, she had regained her smug composure, and her voice had re-acquired that typical mocking tone she was known for. "You are correct, there were two passengers sitting first-class that flight. If you so desperately wish to cling onto the foolish claim that the other passenger is the true culprit, why don't you prove it? Go ahead, summon the defendant to the stand. Let her testify about the other passenger. Then, we will see who is speaking the truth, and who is defiling this courtroom with lies."


End file.
